Many of the films were quite good. Choosing just 10 standouts was no easy task.

So, as promised last week, here’s my top five. If you missed, forgot or just want to revisit the other half of my list, check out www.saratogatodayonline.com.

My Top Ten Films of 2007: (continued)

5. “There Will Be Blood” - Daniel Plainview (Daniel Day-Lewis) is an oil man. He finds it, he drills for it and he profits greatly from it. After a stranger tips him off about an area flush with oil, Plainview finds himself butting heads with the town’s preacher.

Due to its two and a half plus hour running time, its pacing and its ambiguity, “There Will Be Blood” is not for everybody. Those who do give it a chance will be left in awe by the film’s amazing cinematography, writing, direction and score.

Day-Lewis’ tour de force performance as a ruthless and vengeful, yet incredibly complex man is absolutely fascinating. Paul Dano, who last appeared in “Little Miss Sunshine” as a silent teenage Nietzsche fan, plays two different roles in this film; I’m mentioning this because so many people left the movie theater confused. As Plainview’s rival, the young actor displays both his maturity and his vast potential.

Based on Upton Sinclair’s novel “Oil!,” this story about greed, religion and family is set roughly a century ago, but is as relevant now as ever. Writer/director P.T. Anderson’s work continues to impress, and if he continues to create such thought-provoking films, his body of work may one day be as revered as that of Martin Scorsese or Robert Altman.

4. “Wristcutters: A Love Story” - Following a difficult breakup, Zia (Patrick Fugit) decides to kill himself. However, his death doesn’t lead him to heaven or hell; instead, he arrives in a bland afterlife reserved for suicides where no one can smile. After hearing that his ex-girlfriend killed herself, Zia sets out on a road trip to find her with a Russian musician, Eugene (Shea Whigham) and a pretty hitchhiker, Mikal (Shannyn Sossamon).

“Wristcutters: A Love Story” lives up to and surpasses its intriguing title and premise. Part “Everything is Illuminated,” part “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind” and part “Better Off Dead,” this road film through purgatory seems destined to become a cult classic.

Strange characters played by Tom Waits, Will Arnett and Jake Busey are just a few of the interesting folks that Zia, Eugene and Mikal meet during their adventure. The chemistry between Fugit and Sossamon feels very natural, and Whigham is a riot.

For a dark comedy laced with macabre humor, “Wristcutters: A Love Story” is surprisingly sweet and romantic. The film has loads of priceless dialogue, offbeat charm and a killer soundtrack featuring Joy Division, Gram Parsons, Gogol Bordello and Del Shannon.

3. “Lars and the Real Girl” - Lars Lindstrom (Ryan Gosling) is a painfully shy young man who keeps mostly to himself. When Lars brings his girlfriend Bianca over for dinner his family doesn’t know quite what to make of her; Bianca is an anatomically correct sex doll he ordered off the Internet.

When it comes to Bianca, Lars only has one thing in mind: a meaningful relationship. His sister-in-law worries about him, his brother thinks he’s crazy, but his psychologist believes Bianca might only be a stage that Lars is working through.

The concept behind “Lars and the Real Girl” could easily have been played for cheap laughs and been a thoroughly sleazy affair. What’s astounding is that is not at all the case with this film.

Gosling is truly remarkable in this movie. Not only does the actor create a likable, fragile and genuine character in Lars, he also makes the relationship between Bianca and Lars feel emotionally real. Even though Bianca is made of plastic the audience grows attached to her because she serves as his security blanket.

“Lars and the Real Girl” is a tender and poignant tale about the nature of delusions, loneliness, relationships and love. It’s the kind of quirky, smart and honest comedy that Frank Capra would have admired.

2. “Zodiac” - A murderer with seemingly random targets taunts police and reporters with his threatening letters and cryptic codes.

During the 1960s and 1970s, the Zodiac killer terrorized the San Francisco Bay Area. Director David Fincher’s methodically-paced, character-driven adaptation of Robert Graysmith’s books puts viewers in the thick of this dense mystery.

The story revolves around a quiet, young cartoonist with a knack for solving puzzles (Jake Gyllenhaal), a flaky and ambitious newspaper reporter (Robert Downey Jr.) and a determined inspector (Mark Ruffalo). What the three men share is an obsessive interest in a case that most had given up on.

“Zodiac” is easily the most underrated movie of 2007. This haunting film’s unsettling atmosphere and authenticity are due to Fincher’s skill as a director as well as the fact that these crimes actually happened.

1. “The Wind That Shakes the Barley” - Damien (Cillian Murphy) is about to become a doctor. After his friend is murdered for standing up to soldiers, the young Irishman abandons his medical career and joins his brother Teddy (Padraic Delaney) in the fight for freedom from the British.

Set in the 1920s, “The Wind That Shakes the Barley” focuses on two brothers torn apart during Ireland’s struggle for independence. At times graphically violent, this excellent film presents an unflinching portrayal of the effects that war and an individual’s unwavering beliefs can have on a family, a community and a country.

Released to a limited number of theaters in the United States last March, “The Wind That Shakes the Barley” won the 2006 Palme d’Or, the highest prize given to a movie at the Cannes Film Festival. It’s easy to see why.

Murphy and Delany both give passionate and powerful performances. Raising difficult questions about loyalty, patriotism and the price of freedom, “The Wind That Shakes the Barley” is an absorbing and beautiful tale from the first shot until the credits roll.